The Materfamilias Intervention
by empty-the-sky
Summary: What if Sheldon and Amy did not meet at the coffee shop? What if Mary Cooper decided to help her youngest son finding a mate? So many what ifs. A Shamy multi-chapter AU story.
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings, fellow earthlings!**

 **Some AU story that has been haunting my mind for a while. It's going to be a few chapters long so I'm pretty nervous about this. Also, might be OOC.**

 **Sadly, I do not own The Big Bang Theory nor its characters otherwise I would not have to write this every time I post a story. I just wish I own them though.**

* * *

Mary Cooper loved all her children equally. Although, if she could be honest, she would admit that she worried about her youngest son the most. He was the brightest of all her children. You could ask him anything about science and he would explain the answers thoroughly, which most likely causing the questioner to regret asking in the first place. It was not only science, he also knew about some random trivia—that he often shared without being asked—that Mary thought had no use at all in life. He also had an amazing memory, that boy could remember everything. He called it eidetic memory, Mary called it useful especially when she forgot her shopping list. Sheldon Lee Cooper was a genius.

However, when it came to social interactions, even the most common ones, he could be a clueless idiot. He could not understand the sarcastic jokes his siblings made and too often made other people mad and hurt with his blatant statements. Yes, he had friends, wonderful friends. People, whom Mary were grateful of for putting up with his son and who she prayed for every day, hoping that they would put up with him for another day.

But people grow up, including your children and their friends. That was why Mary was not surprise when Sheldon called one evening, informing her that Leonard and Penny had engaged, following the trail of Howard and Bernadette to be married. Mary was so happy upon hearing the news, the couple would no longer be living in sin. Still, she could hear annoyance in his son's voice, and maybe a little bit of panic. She knew Sheldon always despised changes, and Leonard and Penny tie the knot would cause a lot of changes in his life. No longer living together with Leonard—his roommate for years—would only be one of them. Mary understood, from firsthand experience, that sometimes when people grow up, they also grow apart. Leonard and Penny would still be there for Sheldon for now, but what would happen when they decided to have a family and move to a house. Sheldon could not tag along after them forever.

Sheldon was already in his mid-thirties and he showed no interest in his opposite sex so far. Come to think of it, Mary could not remember he showed any interest in people in general, which had nothing to do with the gender. His only interests were science, comics, trains, and some movies set in space or about superheroes (or maybe about some superheroes lived in space, she was not sure and she did not care actually). Mary believed that Sheldon needed someone. Someone who would love him and care for him just like she did. Someone who could see past his quirks and understand him, who would know how to communicate with him. Someone who would not leave him when they reach an impasse.

It took Mary ten minutes after the phone call with her youngest son and years and years of worrying for her to reach a conclusion, Sheldon Lee Cooper needed to get married and she would help him find the perfect woman.

* * *

Upon closing the front door of her house, Mary Cooper let herself jumped in joy in the emptiness of the house. She just got home from the weekly bible study in church. It was just another ordinary Wednesday night for her but apparently God had other plan.

She had been forming a plan to find the perfect woman for Sheldon Cooper for weeks without much success. She tried to find someone in her neighborhood, but all the young women of Sheldon's age were already married or thought him weird (well, the married ones also thought him weird). Talking through the parents was not easy as well since even the parents were not big fans of Sheldon. Mary did not blame them though, Sheldon Cooper was a piece of work for those who did not understand him.

She considered trying the internet dating app but technology was not her strong suit. Often times, she had to ask Sheldon just to change the setting on her cellphone.

What harder was that she was alone in this plan. She knew she could not talk about this with her other children since she knew they would probably blab and tease him. She tried to talk about this to her mother, a woman she knew Sheldon would listen to, but she refused her idea saying that Sheldon was a grown man who was fine on his own and there was no need to intervene in his life. She almost agreed to her mother and forgot the plan altogether until God answered her prayer, or so she thought.

One of the congregation member, a middle-aged woman who just moved last year to the neighborhood brought her daughter to the church that evening. Well, Mary guessed the girl was her daughter. She did not know the woman well; she did not talk much and always went straight home right after church without socialized with the other congregation. Mary took the chance to talk to her. She introduced herself and engaged in chit chat, the woman replied politely and then introduced Mary to the girl sitting next to her as her daughter. Mary thought the girl was pretty although she was quiet the whole evening and only talked when she said her name.

Mary tried to dig a little, wanting to know more about the girl. Apparently, she was on leave to visit her mother and she was single. Mary saw the girl's eyes rolled discreetly when the mother commented that it was unfortunate a girl her age had not married. The mother's eyes perked up upon hearing Mary's story that she, too, had a son around her daughter's age who had not married. One thing led to another and next thing she knew, Mary ended up with a dinner invitation from the mother this Sunday.

* * *

"As I have already told you, Mom, I don't want to go to Noah's wedding," Sheldon said adjusting his cellphone to his other ear as he exited his office.

"But why? He's your cousin and it would be the perfect time for the whole family to gather," his mother said through the phone.

"He tormented me a lot when we were a kid and I don't like him. I'm sure the feeling is mutual," he replied. Sheldon looked at his watch and realized he had to hurry if he did not want to be late. His mother's call at unscheduled time really threw his schedule away. He quickened his pace to his destination.

"Come on, Shelly! You were both kids. I'm sure many things have changed since then. Besides, don't you miss your mother and Meemaw? It's been so long since you last visited."

Sheldon sighed. He was almost sure his mother brought Meemaw just to persuade him. She knew he had a soft spot for Meemaw. "Fine. I can't promise you that I can go but I promise that I will consider it."

Sheldon could hear Mary squealed on the phone. She knew him too well she could hear from his voice and his tone that the possibility of Sheldon going was more likely. "Oh, I promise you won't regret it, Shelly."

Sheldon rolled his eyes upon hearing her mother's reaction but did not say anything. He, too, knew that he would book the flight as soon as they ended the call. He did miss his mother and Meemaw after all.

"Oh, and Shelly, there is someone I want you to meet here. I'm sure you'll like her. She's…"

"Mom, are you trying to set me up?" Sheldon interrupted her. He had been suspicious since her mother kept asking him weird questions and his opinion on some women he barely knew during his childhood and whether he had a certain type for a lady for the past few weeks. At first, he only dismissed her questions and replied shortly, although not always nicely, thinking her mother was being weird. But then, when he brought the topic to the gang one evening, Penny inquired why his mother was acted as if she was trying to set him up. They all soon burst out laughing and abandoned the topic, but Sheldon had a little suspicion that Penny might be right.

"I am not!" her mother replied too quickly but she knew the cat was out of the bag. "Fine. Maybe a little. I just met a young woman and I have a feeling that you'll like her. In fact, I just had dinner with her and her mother last night. She's beautiful and she's smart like you."

"I doubt that there is someone as smart as me. Mom, I really need to hang up. I have an appointment and I'm already late," Sheldon said as he stopped at his destination.

Just when Sheldon was about to knock the door in front of him while still listening to his mother on the phone, the door opened suddenly, presenting him with a pair of green eyes looking at him sharply.

"Bye, Mother. I love you," he said shortly not turning his gaze from those eyes and ended the call.

"You're late, Doctor Cooper," the owner of such green eyes said flatly then took a step aside allowing him to come in.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. No need to state the obvious, Doctor Fowler," he replied as he stepped into the room.

Seconds after, the door of the neurobiology department in Caltech closed quietly.

* * *

 **I will update a new chapter next week, so bear with me.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **May we all do kind things and say kind words.**


	2. Chapter 2

" _You're late, Doctor Cooper."_

" _Yes, I'm aware of that. No need to state the obvious, Doctor Fowler,"_ Sheldon replied as he entered her lab which was also her office.

Sheldon Cooper did not expect that he would be collaborating with someone from the neurobiology department someday. He always preferred to work alone. That was why when President Siebert asked him to collaborate with the neurobiology department, he did not welcome the idea. What the neurobiology department needed from him was beyond him, they worked with icky squishy stuff. He was too valuable. However, President Siebert insisted him to at least listen to the presentation from the neurobiology department. He told him that they needed the best person from the physics department and Sheldon was undoubtedly the best choice. Despite Sheldon's suspicion that President Siebert was manipulating him, he could not help but agree with his statement and accepted the invitation to listen to the presentation first.

He was surprised at first to find that there was only one person when he opened the presentation room's door. He expected a party from neurobiology department would be there, it should be an honor to give a presentation to Dr. Sheldon Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D. after all. Instead, a small woman with dark hair and glasses stood up straight in front of the room with a power point of presentation ready behind her.

"Good afternoon. You're Doctor Sheldon Cooper, I'm Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler," the woman greeted him. She did not offer her hand to shake his and Sheldon tremendously appreciated her for that.

"Hello, Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler. Are you the neurobiologist who will give the presentation to me?"

"Yes, I am. Please, be seated," she replied shortly.

"And you're going to do the presentation alone?" Sheldon said skeptically.

"Yes. Is that a problem for you?"

"Oh, no. Please, entertain me," Sheldon said mockingly before taking his seat.

The woman ignored his demeaning tone and started her presentation.

For the next hour, Sheldon found himself mesmerized by the woman in front of her.

She explained about how she had an idea to conduct some experiments to show that the signal to move a muscle occurs before someone knew they even decided to move it, that she was trying to figure out to the nanometer and the attosecond, precisely where and when an event of awareness takes place, that she wanted to study the time lag between intent and awareness, and that it applied to the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. She had prepared a thorough and elaborate presentation Sheldon did not even had any question for her. He did not expect to be blown away with the presentation from someone from the neurobiology department, yet he did.

"Wow!" Sheldon managed to squeak.

"I know," the woman replied, nodding knowingly.

"Well, what do you know? Here I was, waiting to be bored with biology, and instead you tickle my intellectual fancy," Sheldon said enthusiastically. "Which, unlike my body, is an okay place to tickle," he added.

The woman frowned at his later remark but did not say anything.

Sheldon considered her proposal. If the experiments succeeded, it would be a breakthrough not only for neurobiology but also physics. Her idea was brilliant and plausible, she also had prepared everything. Sheldon was sold.

"So, what do you say, Doctor Cooper?" the woman broke the silence.

Sheldon smiled. "Well, Doctor Fowler, get ready to prepare your ship because I'm on board."

They had been working together for a couple weeks now. Every day after lunch, Sheldon would come to her office to work on their project. Amy decided that they should call it _their_ project on the first day. She reasoned that even though it was her idea, they were going to work on it together so it was only logical. Sheldon agreed immediately, knowing if it were his idea, he probably would call it _his_ project all the time and insisted other people to do the same. But noticing that she was doing it for science not her ego, made him respected her more.

It was not like he never heard of her before—she was a quite well-known neurobiologist. He had read her study that disproved love at first sight and laughed at the irony that he loved that study the moment he read it. He recognized her when she introduced herself, he was even a little excited to meet her and ready to praise on her works if only he did not need to keep his appearance in front of her, something that he would never admit to her.

Sheldon found himself enjoyed working along with her. She was brilliant. She could keep up with him, even in physics, she did not know everything but she knew enough to cover the basis of physics. She did not talk when they were working, yet when they had a discussion, Sheldon felt like they could talk for hours. She also understood his jokes and she made good ones too. It usually took time for Sheldon to enjoy someone's company but they hit it off instantly. They never talked outside her lab. However, he often could not wait to tell her when he read some interesting articles or thought of some amusing puns or jokes. Sheldon pondered about inviting her to lunch a couple times but afraid it would sound unprofessional.

However, Sheldon's mind was elsewhere that day. He could not stop thinking back to his conversation with her mother earlier.

"Why so glum?"

Amy's voice brought him back to reality. He considered not telling her anything but there was something about her eyes that was full of concern and looked sincere. Sheldon opened his mouth and instead of lying by saying that everything was okay, he told her everything like water pouring after the tap had been turned open. Amy listened attentively and did not interrupt him until he finished.

"You know you can just meet her and tell your mother later that she doesn't meet your standard," Amy suggested.

"You don't know my mother. The moment I agree to meet the woman, she will be busy planning my wedding," Sheldon replied coldly. "Besides, I don't want to make a bad precedent. If I agree this time, she would think it is okay to send flyers of me all over the town and have all the maidens lined up to meet me."

Amy chuckled. "Sounds like my mother."

"Your mother tries to set you up also?"

"She has tried a few times in the past but it never worked. In the end, I just made a deal with her to date once a year in exchange for her silence on the matter, as well as the occasional use of her George Foreman Grill that seals in the flavor without the fat," Amy said. "Although, she never gives up and always calls me the next day after the date asking me how they went."

Sheldon had an uncomfortable and inexplicable feeling in his stomach of imagining Amy went on dates with other men. "And, how the dates went?"

"Tedious," Amy replied simply.

Sheldon was surprised to find himself felt relieved upon hearing her reply. He cleared his throat to shake the feeling. "So, as someone who is experience on this matter, do you have any suggestion?" he asked. "Other than agree to meet the woman, of course," he added.

"Hmm, well, there is something else you can try."

"What is it?"

"Tell her that you already have a girlfriend."

* * *

 **I think at this point you can guess the idea of this story. It's a cliché idea and it's going to be a one hell of a cliché story. So, buckle up.**

 **And thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

" _Tell her that you already have a girlfriend."_

"So, I'd perpetrating a ruse?" Sheldon asked.

"Precisely."

"Doctor Fowler! Aren't you full of brilliant ideas!" Sheldon said.

Amy waved her hand nonchalantly but Sheldon thought he saw a little blush on her face.

"I was planning to do that to my mother but I haven't met the perfect man to play pretend as my boyfriend. She knows I have high standards so I can't just use some random man otherwise she'd be suspicious," she explained. "Now, let's get back to work, shall we?"

"Very well. I apologize for causing disruption to our work with my problem," Sheldon humbly said.

Amy only nodded and they both continued to work.

Amy's idea had put Sheldon's mind on ease for the rest of the day. He even surprised the gang when he casually complimented Howard for correctly bringing his food order for dinner. Howard looked for any sign of sarcasm considering it was not the first time he ordered Sheldon's food but Sheldon just calmly enjoyed his dinner. The gang thought Sheldon acted weirder than usual and exceptionally chirpy, they looked at him in wonder but then just shrugged and let him be.

They definitely could use a nicer Sheldon Cooper.

* * *

Sheldon panicked.

 _No, no, no, no,_ he thought.

He looked back to the conversation he had with his mother earlier. Another unscheduled phone call but this time it was necessary.

"Hello, Shelly," his mother answered after the second ring.

"Good morning, Mom. I'm calling to inform you that I will be home to attend Noah's wedding next weekend. Unfortunately, I cannot accept your invitation to meet the woman you're trying to set me up with," Sheldon said to the point.

"Why not?" Mary asked not even bother to deny that she was indeed trying to set him up.

"Because I already have a girlfriend and I have no intention to betray her," he replied, grateful that her mother was not in front of her so the she could not see his face twitched.

Mary did not reply for a moment Sheldon checked his phone screen to see if the call was somehow disconnected. It was not.

"Mom, are you still there?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm here," Mary finally said. "So, you have a girlfriend now?"

"Correct."

"Then you should bring her to the wedding," she simply said.

"What! I-I can't bring her to the wedding!" he stammered.

"Why not?"

"We just started dating and I don't want to overwhelm her with our family. She might freak out."

"Don't you want to introduce her to us?"

"Y-yes, of course. But, not now. Someday."

"Oh, Shelly. Why are you so shy?" Mary asked sweetly. "Is it because your girlfriend doesn't exist?" She was not asking this time, she stated it out right, knowing that his youngest son was lying.

"What? No! I assure you she is real." Sheldon's voice was raising involuntarily. "She exists and she is real. Her name is… Amy. Amy Farrah Fowler." He mentioned the first name that came to his mind. After all it was her idea, Sheldon was sure she would not mind.

"Really?"

"Y-yes. She is a neurobiologist at Caltech. And she's smart, and kind, a-and pretty."

"She sounds lovely."

"She is."

"That makes me _really_ want to meet her more," Mary said mockingly.

Sheldon kicked himself in the head. He should not have made her sounded so wonderful, although she really was wonderful. It was not like what he said about her not true.

"She can't. She is a busy woman," he tried to dismiss the idea from her mother.

"So, first you said she can't come because you don't want to overwhelm her and now you said she can't come because she's busy. Which one is it, Shelly? Is it actually because you only made her up?"

"I told you, Amy Farrah Fowler is real! We are pair bonded. I can send you pictures," Sheldon said in panic.

"Look, Shelly. Here's the deal," Mary said in a firm tone which always causing Sheldon to shut his mouth. "You will bring your _girlfriend_ as your plus one to the wedding or I'll invite Vanessa to be your plus one and you are going to behave nicely to her."

"Who's Vanessa?" Sheldon asked.

"Oh, that's the name of the lovely girl I want you to meet," she replied casually. "I'm expecting your confirmation this Friday so that I still have time to invite her. I'm sure if your girlfriend is that wonderful and your relationship is indeed real, you guys can make it work despite her, you know, _busy_ schedule."

 _Drat_ , Sheldon thought. He did not know that his mother was serious this time. This was not supposed to happen. The plan was to tell her mother that he expected her not to introduce him to any woman while he was in Texas because he already had a girlfriend and he believed in monogamous relationship and she would drop the subject completely.

"Shelly?" Mary said. She waited for him to say something.

"Yes, Mother?" Sheldon only managed to respond.

"Call me this Friday. Bye," she said and ended the call without giving him the chance to say anything.

Sheldon threw his phone to the bed and groaned in frustration.

"Sheldon, are you alright?" Leonard said opening the door of Sheldon's room. "Are you sick? Why aren't you ready yet?"

"Geez, Leonard. Can't you knock? Also, can't a man have a conversation with his mother in the morning?"

"I can and he can, but it's almost time to go to work otherwise we'll be late," Leonard said.

Sheldon looked at his watch and realized the time. Leonard was already dressed to work while he was still in his pajamas. "Relax, Leonard, it's not like you are solving the mystery of the universe anyway," he said angrily as he stormed to the bathroom.

"There goes the nice Sheldon. It's been nice while it lasted," Leonard muttered to the empty room.

* * *

As Leonard parked the car, Sheldon almost fell as he hurriedly got out of the car without freeing himself from the seat belt.

"Sheldon, be careful! Why the rush anyway?" Leonard asked.

"There's an emergency."

"What's wrong?" Leonard was totally confused. Sheldon had been acted weirder since that morning. He was more confused when he saw Sheldon walking quickly but not to the direction of his building. "Sheldon, where are you going?"

"I need to see Doctor Fowler."

"The neurobiologist? Why? Is that the emergency?" Leonard remembered Sheldon had informed the gang that he started collaborating with Doctor Fowler from neurobiology department to study the time lag between intent and awareness which Leonard thought was interesting. Sheldon mentioned her names quite a lot, which if Leonard did not know him better, he would say that Sheldon had a crush on her, although he probably was just excited to start a new project.

"Please, Leonard, I don't need to tell you everything that happens in my life," Sheldon only replied without turning back as he left Leonard in the parking lot.

* * *

Sheldon stopped in front of Amy's office door out of breath. He had half run to her building from the parking lot. He composed his breath before raising his hand to knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock. "Doctor Fowler."

Knock, knock, knock. "Doctor Fowler."

Knock, knock, knock. "Doctor Fowler."

A surprised looking Amy opened the door. "Doctor Cooper. What are you doing here? It's not our agreed schedule yet."

Sheldon stepped inside her office without waiting for her invitation to come in. "Let's stop with the chit chat and cut to the chase," he said once he was in the room. "There's something I have to tell you."

"What's that?" Amy asked frowning.

"I need you to go with me to Texas next weekend as my girlfriend."

* * *

 **I used the name Vanessa because I'm running out of idea. Also, thank you for reading. A review or two would be nice.**


	4. Chapter 4

" _I need you to go with me to Texas_ _next weekend as my girlfriend."_

"As your girlfriend?" Amy asked, confused.

"I-I mean as my pretend girlfriend," Sheldon said. God, he stammered a lot lately, he thought.

"Oh," Amy replied as she closed the door of her office. "While I'd be gladly pretending to be your girlfriend, I don't understand why I have to go to Texas with you." It was true, she did not mind if she had to pretend to be his girlfriend. In fact, she considered asking him to pretend as his boyfriend in front of her mother to free herself from those tedious annual dates as well as her mother's sneaky attempts in setting her up every once in a while. However, she had a reservation since they only met a couple weeks ago, they even still called each other with their last names and titles.

"I followed the advice you gave me yesterday and told my mother that I have a girlfriend. Unfortunately, she saw right through me and said I have to bring my 'girlfriend' to my cousin's wedding next weekend in Texas otherwise she will invite Vanessa to be my plus one. And I have to behave nicely to her even though I don't know her at all!" Sheldon groaned.

"Who's Vanessa?" Amy asked.

"That's the name of the girl my mother wants me to meet," he replied. "Can you believe it? Even her name sounds ridiculous," Sheldon scoffed.

"I think that's a little unfair, you don't know her yet. There might be a reason your mother tries to set you up with her."

"Ugh, you are so kind," Sheldon said. Amy was not sure if she should be offended or flattered by his words. "And I know the reason—she thought I'm incapable of finding a mate so she feels the need to intervene with my life," Sheldon added.

"Are you though?" Amy asked carefully. She personally thought Sheldon was a brilliant scientist and an amazing person, she was certain any woman would be lucky to be his mate. Although she could also understand that most people might not got him right away.

"I don't need to. I have no intention to be pair bonded ever," Sheldon replied. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have any intention to be pair bonded with someone?" he asked slowly.

"I find the notion of romantic love to be an unnecessary cultural construct that adds no value to human relationships," she replied. "But as a scientist, I'm always open to any possibility."

"Doctor Fowler, that's the most pragmatic thing I have ever heard," Sheldon said.

Amy visibly blushed and for a moment no one said anything and they just gazed into each other's eyes. Anyone who saw them at that moment would definitely told them to get a room.

Sheldon suddenly realized his surroundings. He cleared his throat and asked, "So, will you go with me to Texas?"

"Can I ask why me?"

"Well, when my mother said that she didn't believe I have a girlfriend and only made things up, I got panicked and blurted out your name as my girlfriend. I'm sorry but you were the first person that came to my mind." Sheldon did not admit that most of the times, Amy was the first person that had come on his mind lately.

"But don't you have any other female friends?"

"I only have two female friends other than you; one of them is married and the other is engaged. My mother knows them both as well."

Amy's heart fluttered at his statement. "We're friends?"

"Well, I should think so. Although we met through a project just a couple weeks ago, I enjoy spending times with you very much. And not only for the project, I feel like I can talk to you about everything and we always have stimulating conversation. You are definitely more than just an acquaintance and colleague to me."

"I enjoy spending times with you, too," Amy admitted.

"Good," he smiled at her. "Now, if you agree, please, clear your schedule next weekend and I will book the flights immediately. Oh, and don't worry, I will cover all your travel expenses."

Amy thought for a while.

"I will agree on one condition," she said.

* * *

Sheldon adjusted himself on the couch trying to find the perfect position. It usually took him some time to adjust to a new place, but Amy's apartment was not bad. She kept everything clean and in order. It did not take long for him to find his preferred seat in her living room. Sheldon looked around the room and nodded approvingly.

"I have yoo-hoo. Do you want some?" Amy called from her kitchen.

Sheldon beamed at her, "It's hard to say no to yoo-hoo. The name literally beckons."

She smiled back at him and poured him a glass before handing it to him.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to freshen up a little," Amy said as she went to her bathroom.

Sheldon enjoyed his drink in silence while waiting for Amy. He took his cell phone out of his pocket as he felt it vibrated. It was an incoming call from Leonard.

"Hello, Leonard. Thank goodness you called. I must inform you that I don't need you to drive me home today," Sheldon said.

"And it just occurred to you to tell me now? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I've waited in front of your office for almost an hour!" Leonard replied.

"Well, now you know," Sheldon said casually.

"Arrgh! You're unbelievable. I'm going home now and you have to find a way to go home by yourself tonight," Leonard said before disconnecting the call.

"Well, that's rude," Sheldon commented.

"What's wrong?"

Sheldon looked up and saw that Amy had come out of the bathroom.

"It's Leonard, my roommate. He's just being ridiculous as usual. Say, you will drive me home later, right?"

"Of course," Amy replied.

"Good."

"Should we start now?" Amy asked.

"Very well," he replied.

Amy went to her bedroom to get her laptop and placed it on her coffee table. She sat herself on the couch next to Sheldon, not too close but not too far either.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Sheldon nodded. Amy typed something on her laptop. A moment later, a familiar Skype tone was heard through the room and not long after, a face of a middle-aged woman appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Mother," Amy greeted the woman on the screen.

"Hello, Amy," the woman greeted back. "Is it true what you texted me this afternoon? Do you really have a boyfriend now? Is he real? You don't make him up like the last time, do you?" she inquired straight away.

"Yes, Mother. This Sheldon Cooper. He's a physicist in Caltech," Amy said, adjusting the laptop to include Sheldon on the screen. "We met at work."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Fowler," Sheldon said, waving his hand awkwardly.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Sheldon. I honestly didn't believe Amy when she told me she had a boyfriend," Mrs. Fowler said.

"I assure you I am quite real and I'm having regular intercourse with your daughter," he said.

"What?" Mrs. Fowler said. She looked surprised while Amy nodded slightly.

"Oh, yes. We're like wild animals in heat. It's a wonder neither of us has been hurt," Sheldon continued.

"Amy, what is he saying?" Mrs. Fowler asked, looking at her daughter in horror.

"You wanted me to have a boyfriend, Mother. Well, here he is. Have to sign off now. My hunger for Sheldon is stirring in my loins," Amy said flatly.

"Oh, yes, it's time for me to make love to your daughter's vagina," Sheldon added.

They both ignored the screamed of Mrs. Fowler as Amy ended the Skype.

"Thank you, Doctor Cooper, that went very well," Amy said to Sheldon.

"You're welcome. Although, at this point, I think we need to cease all the formalities and call each other by the first name. It can be a practice for when we go to Texas."

"Well, in that case, thank you, Sheldon."

"You're welcome, Amy."

They smiled at each other, wondering how a simple act as calling each other by the first name could make their stomachs felt funny and their hearts fluttered.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, you're home!" Penny greeted Sheldon cheerfully as he entered the apartment. She and Leonard were cuddling on the couch while watching the television.

"Of course, I am. Are you expecting me not to? I live here, remember?" Sheldon replied, puzzled.

"I mean I didn't expect you could go home by yourself. I thought you'd ask Leonard to pick you up somewhere," Penny explained.

"Oh, well, Amy drove me," Sheldon simply replied.

"Who's Amy?" Penny asked.

"Amy. Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler. The neurobiologist I'm currently collaborating with. I have told you guys about it." Sheldon sighed upon seeing Penny's blank stare. "Seriously, Penny, did you ever listen to what I said?" Sheldon asked putting his shoulder bag on his desk.

"Honestly, I tuned you out when you started talking about science or tv shows. So, basically like all the time," she chuckled.

"You shouldn't have, you could have learned so many things," Sheldon replied. "You might even have learned enough to graduate from the community college."

"Were you working late with her?" Leonard quickly asked him, trying to steer the subject back to Sheldon instead of Penny's lack of college degree.

"I was at her apartment but we were not working late. We were… working on another project," said Sheldon. He started to walk to his bedroom before he stopped dead in his track and turned to them. "By the way, if my mother asks any of you, tell her that Amy is my girlfriend. Good night," he said nonchalantly before retreating to his bedroom, not realizing that Penny's and Leonard's jaws had dropped to the floor.

* * *

"So, when he said another project, do you think he meant he was having sex with her?" Howard asked Leonard and Penny.

The gang was having dinner as usual in 4A without Sheldon who told them that he would be having dinner with Amy that evening. Penny had informed the news about Sheldon's girlfriend to the rest of the gang and they basically had the same reaction as Leonard and she had.

"Ew, I don't know and I don't want to know," Leonard responded.

"To be honest, I kind of want to know though," Penny commented.

"Let me guess, so you can tease him?" Leonard asked.

"You bet!" she replied.

"I didn't know Sheldon has a deal," Bernadette said.

"We all thought the same, Sweetie," Penny replied.

"I think that's beautiful. Sheldon, the robot, finally found the one who would turn him into a real boy," Raj said dreamily.

"Wait until they procreate. There will be a lot of Sheldons and the human race will extinct," Howard snickered.

"You may laugh now but it doesn't seem farfetched. He spent an awful lot of time with her for the last few days," Leonard said.

"Aren't you happy with that you don't have to drive him a lot lately?" Penny asked him.

"Oh, I'm having the time of my life!" Leonard replied.

They kept talking about Sheldon and Amy for a while until Bernadette asked Penny and Leonard about their preparation for the wedding, Sheldon and Amy soon forgotten.

* * *

Sheldon and Amy did spend a lot of time together ever since they agreed to pretend to be each other's girlfriend and boyfriend. Sheldon was teaching Amy to be his girlfriend. He taught her everything about himself and things she should had known if she was his girlfriend. He told her everything—his spot, his bedtime, his laundry schedule, his favorite food and beverage, his favorite comics and TV series, his favorite trains, and any other trivial facts and details of the one and only Sheldon Cooper. They had been doing it every night in Amy's apartment for they needed the privacy.

"Sheldon, I don't think your family would care enough to ask me what your favorite Star Trek is. Honestly, I didn't even know there are more than one," Amy complained after Sheldon spent almost the entire time that night to tell her all about Star Trek. "I don't need to know all the details. Can we move on to the next topic, please?" she pleaded.

Sheldon refrained himself from scolding Amy for her ignorance of Star Trek. "Fine. Just keep in mind that the key to a good lie lies in the details and if our clever ruse is revealed because you fail to answer a question about Star Trek, it will be all on you," Sheldon said, erasing the chart about Star Trek he had drawn on the white board in her living room.

"Ugh, I don't think I can handle anymore Chinese food," Amy said, clearing her coffee table from the empty boxes.

"Me too. But it's the closest and quickest take out we can get on our way here and you know we don't have much time. We have to be ready for when we face my family, especially my mother," Sheldon replied, shuddering at the thought of his mother. He had given up his meal schedule to perfect their plan and he hoped it would not be a waste. "Although, there's a Mexican restaurant nearby that I read from the review has the best guacamole."

"Can't have guacamole. I'm allergic to avocadoes," Amy said as she disposed the empty boxes to the bin.

"Amy, I didn't know!" Sheldon responded.

"Well, it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal! What if I bring you something that has avocadoes in it? O-or worse, what if my mother cooks something with avocadoes and something bad happens to you? It would be my fault because I don't know my girlfriend is allergic to avocadoes."

"Sheldon, relax." Feeling that he was starting to panic, Amy rushed back to him and instinctively rubbed his forearm to calm him. To her surprise, he did not brush her off. "Maybe you have to learn a little about me as well. You know, part of being a couple is knowing each other," she said soothingly.

"You're right. I only know a little about you. I know you love English literature, Chaucer is your favorite. You play the harp, you love monkeys, French movies, and the color grey. After high school, you went to Harvard. Your paper on how a cooperative long-term potentiation can map memory sequences in dendritic branches made the cover of Neuron. By the way, I have read it and I think it's brilliant," Sheldon said.

Amy was taken aback. "That's quite a lot. How did you know that?"

"I listened when you talked and maybe did a little research on you before we started working together," Sheldon admitted sheepishly. "Now, is there any other information about you that might be fatal if I don't know?"

* * *

Raj, Howard, and Bernadette were about to leave 4A when the front door suddenly opened and Sheldon came in.

"Hey, Sheldon," Bernadette greeted him. "Working late a lot lately."

"Yes, we have a project to work on. Anyway, while you are here, I'd like to inform you that Amy Farrah Fowler, also known as Doctor Fowler, would join us for dinner tomorrow and I expect you all to be in your best behaviors," Sheldon told the gang. "Please, do not do something that might freak her out. It'd be such a shame if I lose any of you as friends."

The gang was too stunned to comment on his announcement.

"Well, good night. I'm going to bed," he said, frowning then leaving to his bedroom.

It was a moment later when Leonard finally said, "Is he for real?"

"I know! He already chose her over us," Penny replied.

"Sheldon has it bad," Raj said.

* * *

 **A/N: I must say, writing a multi chapter story is a one hell of a commitment. But it's kinda fun. Anyway, thank you for reading. Reviews are encouraged.**


	6. Chapter 6

Sheldon closed the door of his office just as Leonard came to pick him.

"Do you need a ride home?" Leonard asked.

"It's not necessary, Amy will drive me. I thought it would be awkward for her if I don't escort her to my place, especially for the first time," Sheldon replied.

"Very well. I will pick up the food on my way home. What should I order for her?"

"The same as me. Here," Sheldon pulled out his wallet and gave Leonard some money. "It's for Amy and me."

"Wow, look at you! Paying for your girlfriend's share. What a gentleman," Leonard teased. "I'll see you at home then," Leonard said, quickly leaving him.

Sheldon rolled his eyes before walking to Amy's lab.

He thought back to their plan on pretending to be his girlfriend. One of the important things was to get to know his friends. They had agreed to pretend and act as boyfriend-girlfriend even in front of his friends. Her mother knew about his circle of friends, including the ups and downs of Leonard's and Penny's relationship, they even planned to invite her to their wedding. He could not risk should one of his friends blab to his mother. It should be a practice for them to see if their ruse would work. Besides, his mother would suspect something if Amy did not know about the gang and never met them.

"I'm sorry, I still need to clean this place. Can you wait ten minutes?" Amy said when he arrived at her lab.

"Sure," he said. He sat to his preferred seat in her lab. Just like her apartment, her lab was exceptionally neat and clean. Sheldon had no problem spending time and working there since he knew she always cleaned and tidying the place every day.

"I have to be honest, I'm a little nervous," Amy said as she cleaned her table.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to meet your friends," she admitted.

"There's nothing to be nervous about. I have told you everything about them."

"That's different than meeting them in person. I don't have any friends, I don't know what to expect."

"You're my friend and you have done a great job so far," Sheldon poked her shoulder with his finger.

Amy looked at her shoes trying to hide the blush. When she looked up, Sheldon was intensely watching her.

"Amy, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can cancel the plan. I will talk to my mother and hope for the best," Sheldon said softly, internally hoping that Amy would not get cold feet. He was sure that there was no way he could talk out of it with his mother.

"No, no. I have promised to help you, so I will do it. Besides, you have helped me as well," Amy said, not noticing Sheldon's sigh of relief.

She continued her task with Sheldon watched her every movement. He thought Amy looked so graceful and natural he could not take his eyes off of her. He involuntarily gulped when Amy took off her lab coat, it was like watching his very own private show. He quickly shook off the thought.

"Shall we go now?" Amy asked, fixing her hair.

Sheldon only managed to nod in response.

The drive to Los Robles was quiet and uneventful. As Amy parked in front of his apartment building, Sheldon noticed she took a deep breath.

"If I'm this nervous when I'm about to meet your friends, how am I going to feel when I have to meet your family?" she asked.

"You're going to be great," Sheldon said, brushing his hand slightly on hers. He was surprised that he did not oppose to such action. He knew Amy had washed her hand thoroughly, and he thought that Amy's hand was soft and even wondered how holding it in his would feel.

A smile escaped Amy's lips at the contact.

"I'm ready if you are," he said, he did not want to push her.

Amy nodded. They both got out of the car and entered the building.

* * *

Sheldon thought tonight's dinner with the gang ran smoothly. Although, it started a little awkward. First, there was a problem of seating arrangement. It was only logical that Amy sat next to him since they were trying to show the gang that they were pair bonded, also it would be easier for them to secretly communicate if necessary. He had to make Howard moved for that, fortunately he only grumbled a little then took the seat beside Bernadette next to the couch.

Next, the uneasy feeling as the other guys were watching Amy and him as if they were some circus performers. Every time he talked or interacted with Amy, the gang would temporarily stop their activities to stare at them. He finally scolded them when Amy was in the bathroom and they told him that they just could not believe to live the day when Sheldon Cooper had a girlfriend. Sheldon ignored the remarks about him having a girlfriend and just told them to stop making Amy uncomfortable and be nice to her.

The gang started to treat Sheldon and Amy normally after that. They included her in the conversation and although they seemed to be taken aback at her blatant statement and replies at first, they felt she was tolerable. They found that it was like talking to Sheldon, but she was more adapt to social interactions and she patiently explained to Sheldon all the jokes and sarcasm the gang made. They thought she must be a saint—no one talked to Sheldon with that patient. Penny and Bernadette even invited her for the next girls' night, which she declined at first because she did not consume alcohol but then agreed to, once they explained that the drinking was optional, not mandatory.

"So, what do you think about Amy?" Sheldon asked the gang after he walked Amy to her car since she had to go home early. The gang hid their surprise when he offered to walk her downstairs, they never saw him that attentive to anyone. Sheldon reasoned that he needed to talk with Amy but truthfully, he also wanted to make sure Amy got to her car safely.

"Sweetie, since when do you care what other people think?" Penny asked back.

"I don't, but I want to know what you think about us." Sheldon had to know if his friends were convinced of their pretend relationship.

"I think she's weird, but not weirder than you," Howard snickered.

Bernadette glared at him. "I think she's interesting and smart," she said to Sheldon.

"She is! Did you know, when she was 14, she severed the webbing between her own toes?" Sheldon said enthusiastically.

"Um, no?" Bernadette replied, frowning.

"She did! She performed surgery on her own feet with nothing but nitrous oxide from cans of whipped cream as anesthesia. Isn't that interesting?"

"I change my answer. She is as weird as you," Howard said.

Sheldon glared at him

"I think it's good that she could keep up with you. You guys are suited for each other," Leonard said, trying to calm Sheldon. After all, Leonard did think that Amy was similar to Sheldon and while he thought she was as weird as Sheldon, he could not help but felt happy for his friend.

"Thank you, Leonard. Now I'm confident to bring her to Texas with me next weekend," Sheldon said, relieved that they believed in his ruse.

"You're already going to introduce her to your family?" Penny asked. "Isn't it a little too fast?"

"So?" Sheldon said.

"I've known you for years and I didn't even know you have any intention to date anyone," Penny said. "How long have you been dating her anyway?"

"Amy Farrah Fowler is a remarkable woman. It doesn't matter how long I've known her, the fact remains the same," Sheldon said. He did not really answer Penny's question, he was merely stating the fact. It was what Amy had taught her. He told Amy one night that his biggest issue was having to lie. Somehow, his face was betraying him when he lied and he could not control it. She told him to avoid the question and simply stating a related fact which might look like an answer but not really. This way, his brain would not regard the action as lying so his face would not twitch.

The gang was shocked for a moment. It was seldom of him to speak so highly of someone.

"If you are sure, then you should bring her," Leonard finally said.

"I really do," Sheldon said. He really thought Amy was remarkable.

"It's so romantic," Raj squeaked with teary eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Sheldon hated flying. It was not like he was scared of height (well, maybe a little), he just hated the feeling of being trapped in a giant tin at least 30,000 feet above the ground where you were dependent on some guys driving it and some other guys on the ground.

He kept checking his seat-belt to make sure it was properly fastened.

"For the full disclosure, I don't like flying," he said, leaning to Amy.

She closed her book and put it on her lap. "Wow, who would have thought?" Amy said flatly. The glint in her eyes told that Sheldon was being very obvious.

He ignored her sarcasm remark. "Just be prepared, I might not be a good company during the flight."

"You can hold my hand if it helps," Amy offered. The words barely escaped her lips when Sheldon grabbed her hand in his and squeezed tightly. "Be careful there, you don't want to crush it."

"I'm sorry. I meant it when I said I don't like flying," he said, loosening his grip but not letting go. They had been practicing to hold hands occasionally. There might be times when they needed to do it in Texas, his mother would not believe his 'they have the relationship of the mind' nonsense. Besides, Sheldon did not find holding Amy's hand repulsive, she had an impeccable hygiene. In fact, if he was being honest, it even helped him feeling calm some time.

"One time, I broke a TSA agent's nose when she got a little handsy." Sheldon's eyebrows raised at her statement. "I had to cancel my talk and was on the No Fly List for a while."

"Amy Farrah Fowler, you never ceased to surprise me."

"Well, we all have a past."

Suddenly the pilot announced that they would takeoff shortly and Sheldon's face grew pale.

"The most uncomfortable parts about flying are the takeoff and the landing," he said. "I hate it."

"Did you know that within the Japan Air Lines there is a term called the 'Critical 11 Minutes' which refers to the three minutes after the takeoff and the eight minutes before landing? It stems from the fact that 80 percent of accidents involving commercial aircraft occurs within these two periods, when the aircraft is most vulnerable to many dangers."

"Not helping, Amy," Sheldon gripped her hand tighter.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was an interesting fact. We can talk about something else."

"As long as it doesn't involve airplane crash," he snapped.

"No need to be snippy, Mister."

"Hey, I'm terrified. I have the right to be snippy." Still, he lowered his tone and rubbed his thumb on her knuckles apologetically.

Amy was silent. She placed her other hand on her chin and frowned her eyebrows. Sheldon recognized the gesture, she was thinking. Sheldon had spent enough times secretly watching her when they were working, there was just something mesmerizing about it.

"I know," she suddenly said, bringing him back from his daydream. "In a world where rhinoceroses are domesticated pets, who wins the Second World War?"

"What? Um, Uganda," he finally said after thinking.

"Defend."

"Kenya rises to power on the export of rhinoceroses. A Central African power block is formed, colonizing North Africa and Europe. When war breaks out, no one can afford the luxury of a rhino. Kenya withers, Uganda triumphs," he explained.

"Correct," she said, smiling at him.

"Oh, this is fun. Did you just create a new game?"

"I believe _we_ just created a new game," Amy said. Sheldon beamed at her. It was so typical of her to share credits with the other. He could not admire her more.

"We should give it a name. Oh, oh, I know! How about Counterfactuals?" Sheldon said enthusiastically.

"Counterfactuals? I like it," Amy replied. "Now, it's my turn. Go ask me something."

Sheldon thought his question. "In a world where a piano is a weapon, not a musical instrument, on what does Scott Joplin play The Maple Leaf Rag?"

"That's easy, tuned bayonets."

"Defend."

"Isn't it obvious?" Amy replied, raising her eyebrows.

"You're right. My apologies." Sheldon heard a ding sound and saw that the sign of the seatbelt was off. He realized that the plane already took off. She successfully distracted him. "Should we continue the game?"

"How about we save some for when we're about to land?" Amy proposed.

"Smart."

"By the way, can I have my hand back?" Amy asked. "I want to read and it's hard to flip the pages with only one hand."

Sheldon looked at their intertwined hands, he did not really want to let go. Sheldon knew the guys would definitely lose their mind if they saw him holding someone's hand and did not want to let go, they knew he had aversion to physical contact. But he felt it was different with Amy and he knew her high hygiene standard was only part of the reason. Especially, at that moment, holding her hand gave him comfort. He was afraid if he let go, he would realize his surrounding and be scared again. He also knew it would be unfair to Amy if he hogged her hand for his personal interest.

Amy noticed Sheldon's internal struggle. "What if I do this?" she let go of his palm then leaned her head on his shoulder. That way, he did not lose the physical contact but she still could use both of her hands to hold the book.

This felt new to Sheldon, not unpleasant, just new. It might need some time to get used to it. "I guess it's acceptable," he said.

Amy only smiled and started reading.

Sheldon took out his cellphone and watched SpongeBob SquarePants on his phone. Moments later, he noticed that Amy had fallen asleep. Sheldon watched her for a while then put back the cellphone to his pocket and leaned his head on his seat. It was not so bad after all.

He did not wake her when the pilot informed the passengers that plane was about to land.

* * *

"I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"What if your family hates me?"

"They will like you. Besides, Meemaw likes you. It's all that matters."

"But I never met your Meemaw, how could she like me?"

"I told her about you."

"Did you tell her the truth?"

"Yes, I need someone to support us against my mother and Meemaw is the best," Sheldon said picking up his luggage from the conveyor belt.

"That does not prove that your Meemaw really likes me, she's just helping you."

Amy's hands were fidgeting so Sheldon caught them in his. "She does like you though, she told me herself. She said she can't wait to meet the woman who could make me… change my mind about biology." Sheldon was grateful that Amy was looking down for her own luggage on the conveyor belt so she did not see his face twitching. That was not what his Meemaw said. He had told her everything about the plan one night via facetime and his Meemaw asked if that was all really a ruse since his eyes sparkled when he talked about her. It was not the first time his Meemaw heard about Amy, she was the first thing Sheldon told his Meemaw after he agreed to collaborate with Amy. After that, most of their phone conversation included about what Amy said or did that day. His Meemaw said she liked Amy already and could not wait to meet the woman who could make her grandson smitten, Sheldon did not even dismiss her words. "Come on, my sister should be here already," Sheldon said as he spotted Amy's luggage, then quickly took it and handed it to her.

They walked to the pickup area. One hand rolled their luggage, the other held each other's hands. That was how Missy saw them.

"Oh, look at you two. Aren't you cute?" Missy said as they approached her. "I thought Mommy was lying when she said you will bring your girlfriend. To be honest, I even thought it was a joke when she said you have a girlfriend."

Missy was about to hug Sheldon when he said, "Please, Missy, cut this nonsense. Amy and I are tired and hungry, just take us home."

"Sheldon, that's not a nice way to treat your sister. Especially, after she's being so kindly making time and effort to pick us up. We should appreciate it," Amy told Sheldon.

Missy saw him absorbed her words and instantly watched the change of attitude from Sheldon.

"Very well. Missy, thank you for picking us up. We really appreciate it. Now, could you take us home, please?" Sheldon said politely.

Missy looked back and forth between Sheldon and Amy before her gaze finally fell on Amy. "Amy, right?" she asked, taking Amy's luggage from her hand.

Amy only nodded.

"I like you," Missy said, then walking to lead them to her car.

"Told you," Sheldon whispered to Amy.


	8. Chapter 8

Amy believed that Mary Cooper hated her. She was almost sure of it. Amy had been in the Cooper's residence for a couple hours and she felt that Mary had treated her coldly from the first time Sheldon introduced them. Maybe Sheldon was right, Mary could see through them and knew about their little plan to deceit her. She was his mother after all. Still, Amy did not let herself felt intimidated by her and decided to carry on with the act.

Georgie was a lot nicer in person than what Sheldon often told her. Just like Missy, he was actually very kind and friendly. Sure, Georgie and Missy teased Sheldon here and there, especially now that he had a 'girlfriend' but Amy could see that they were actually concern about their brother. Although, Amy thought they all had cute accent and wondered if Sheldon used to talk like that as well.

"Amy, do you want more ice tea? I understand if you're not use to this heat," Meemaw asked her.

"I'm fine, thank you," Amy replied. Amy liked that woman instantly and could understand why Sheldon loved her very much.

"Good choice. You don't want to spoil yourself with too many ice tea. You should save some room for Meemaw's special brisket. It's the best!" Sheldon said, looking at his Meemaw lovingly.

"Oh, Moonpie, aren't you sweet," she replied.

Amy watched the interaction in awe. She wished Sheldon's friends who often called him a robot could see him now so that they would understand that the man actually had feelings. He might be quirky but all his quirkiness made him cuter. Amy was surprised at her own thought. She knew well that Sheldon was not bad looking, in fact she thought he had a pleasant looking feature. But she never thought of him as cute. She paid attention to the man sitting on the couch next to her. Sheldon did not have a muscular body, but he was quite sturdy. Not too skinny. He had a wide shoulder and he was tall. His hands were big ad soft with long fingers, which often fidgeting when he was excited or nervous.

She was busy in her thought and did not realize that Sheldon was talking to her until he touched her hand.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said.

"I was telling you to move to the dining room. Dinner's ready," Sheldon said.

* * *

Amy was right. Mary Cooper did not like her. She knew Sheldon was lying when he said he already had a girlfriend but she did not expect that Sheldon would go that far by bringing some random woman to her house. Something was not right. Sheldon always told her everything. She never heard of this Amy before and suddenly he brought her out of the blue claiming that she was his girlfriend. Mary thought that Amy was weird, she talked weird and wore weird clothes. Although, maybe not that weird since she talked like Sheldon and wore clothes like her mother.

Mary realized that Sheldon had been avoiding his gaze from her the entire evening, something that he often did when he was hiding something from her and particularly feeling guilty. Although, she had to admit that she was impressed with their acting skills. Sheldon managed to look attentive when he talked to Amy, he even reached her hand and played with her fingers a few times. Mary felt she needed to appreciate his effort, Sheldon was not a big fan of physical contact. Sometimes hugging him would involve negotiations. He really was willing to go far this time. And this Amy was also good at playing her part, she had been looking at his youngest son like he was the center of the universe. What a nonsense, Mary thought.

"So, Sheldon, I've been thinking. Since Missy and Georgie will stay the night in their old rooms, Amy should sleep in yours," Mary said as she put the food onto her plate. She decided if Sheldon had the heart to lie to her, she would play along.

"Where would I sleep then?" he asked, frowning.

"In your room of course." Silence suddenly fell over the room. Everyone seemed to stop eating, even Georgie put back his fork to the plate slowly not to make a sound.

"B-but girls aren't allowed in my room. You said it yourself," Sheldon replied.

He looked panicked. Good, Mary thought. Mary knew he would reject the idea and she wanted to push him into giving up his plan. "Oh, Shelly, I'm no longer as conservative as I used to be. I'm sure you have done _much_ more than just holding hands like you guys have been doing the whole time you're here. She's your girlfriend after all," Mary said calmly. "Just no fornicating under my roof. I know you've been doing that back in California, but I'm sure you can keep your hands to yourselves for a few days." Mary added an exaggerated wink for effect.

"But my bed is pretty small. I don't think the two of us could fit," Sheldon protested.

"Don't be silly, of course you both could fit," Mary waved her hand nonchalantly. "However, if you're not sure, Amy can use your old sleeping bag. I still keep it, but I doubt it's going to be comfortable."

"I can't let Amy sleeping on the floor."

"Then maybe you should sleep on the floor and give up your bed for your girlfriend." Mary wondered if she was pushing too hard but she was determined.

"But…"

"Sheldon," Amy cut him, placing her hand on his forearm. He instantly shut his mouth and looked at her. "I don't mind sleeping on the floor," she said softly.

"But it will be uncomfortable, Amy," he protested meekly.

"It's okay, it's just for a couple days and I'll be using the sleeping bag. It will be alright." Amy said, smiling at him reassuringly.

Sheldon reached for Amy's hand on his forearm with his other hand. They stared at each other intensely for a fair amount of time Mary considered saying something to let them know that they were not alone.

"Very well. We will sleep in my room," he said finally, not averting his gaze from Amy.

Everyone except Sheldon and Amy seemed stunned at the scene before them and it was a moment later when they continued eating. Nobody said anything for the rest of the dinner.

Mary did not expect Sheldon to continue with his ruse, she thought he would give up his plan. She did not know Amy had that much power over Sheldon and Mary did not like it.

* * *

"Are you comfortable enough?"

"I'm fine, Sheldon."

"I'm sorry my mother made us do this."

"It's okay."

Sheldon looked down at Amy from his bed. She was facing away, curled in fetal position. The light had been turned off for almost an hour but neither of them could sleep. Sheldon could not sleep because he was not used to sleep with someone in his bedroom, let alone a woman, even if they did not sleep on the same bed. Sheldon thought Amy would not be able to sleep comfortably like that, even though she was sleeping in his sleeping bag. He especially felt bad for making her sleeping on the floor. However, they both were too tired to talk.

Sheldon heard Amy sighed as she adjusted her position for the umpteenth times.

"Amy, are you asleep?"

"I'm trying."

"Why are you keep moving?"

"I'm just a little cold," she murmured.

"Really? It's Texas in the middle of the year."

"I get cold easily. I packed a light nightgown in anticipation of the heat, turned out I was wrong."

They were both silent for a beat until Sheldon said, "My blanket is pretty thick and it's pretty warm up here, you can sleep here with me." He did not understand why he said that. All he knew was that he wanted Amy to feel better and comfortable, even if it meant he had to sleep on the same bed with her.

"With you?" Amy asked. She shifted her position to face him although it was pretty hard since the light was out.

"Yes, when the guys and I were conducting research in the North Pole, we had to sleep together to keep ourselves warm. Besides, you were shaking and I can feel it from up her. So, come on," Sheldon said, patting the bed.

He definitely could not feel her shaking but Amy had no energy to argue, she felt terribly cold she would agree to anything. Sheldon scooted over to give her room as she carefully placed herself next to him. He fixed the blanket to envelop them both. Amy instantly felt the warm from the space where Sheldon was sleeping not a minute ago.

They were laying on their sides, facing each other.

"Thank you, Sheldon. I'm feeling better." Amy wrapped herself with the thick blanket which reached her neck.

"Not good enough, you're still shaking. Come here," Sheldon said.

Before she had the chance to register his words, Amy felt Sheldon's arms around her.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked. Their close proximity caused her to be able to feel his warm breath.

"I'm transferring some heat to you," he said, rubbing her arm and back. "How are you feeling now?"

"Warm," Amy said, nuzzling her face to his chest. He was warm and he smelled lovely. "Aren't you going to be too warm?" Amy asked. She felt her eyes started to grow heavy.

"Don't worry about me, just try to sleep. I'll let go if I feel too warm."

He heard her breath became slower and regular. He did not let her go even when he knew she already fell asleep. He closed his eyes and soon joined her.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you, thank you very much for those who have been reading and leaving reviews on this story. You were the highlight of my days.**

 **This Sheldon might be OOC, as well as this Amy and this Mary.**

* * *

Sheldon woke up with his right arm felt numb. He opened his eyes and the face of a sleeping Amy Farrah Fowler was the first thing he saw. She looked so peaceful he did not have the heart to wake her even though his hand was numb. He decided to endure it and just waited until she woke up, she must be exhausted after the travel yesterday.

Sheldon was absentmindedly stroking Amy's hair with his other hand when his bedroom door was opened. He looked at Amy's face to see if the sound had awaken her and was relief when it did not seem to disturb her at all.

Her mother stood behind the door. Sheldon thought she looked a little shock, which was strange since she was the one that suggested them to sleep together in the first place. Sheldon immediately pressed his point finger on his lips, gesturing to her to not make a sound as Amy was still asleep.

"Why aren't you guys ready yet? We have to leave now," Mary whispered, pointing at her watch. Despite her shock, she still respected his wish not to wake Amy.

Sheldon remembered she told them last night that the whole family had to leave early to help at church for the wedding in the afternoon. He had halfheartedly agreed to it last night, but now he only shook his head to his mother and pointed to the still sleeping Amy in his arm.

His mother glared at him. "Just wake her and get ready quickly! I have told you last night we have to leave early," she added in whisper. Contrary to her words, Mary said it quietly in a manner that would not awaken Amy.

Sheldon glared back at her. "We will join you guys later after Amy wakes up. Tell Missy to pick us up before the ceremony," he whispered back. "Please, Mother?" he pleaded.

Even though Mary was not a big fan of Amy, she was not a cold-hearted. Amy might be an actor in Sheldon's ruse, but she understood the travel yesterday could be tiresome for her. That poor girl, she thought. She was surprised to find herself felt a little sympathy for Amy. Finally, she just shrugged and carefully closed the door. After all, she still had another trick up her sleeve.

A few moments later, Sheldon heard the front door of the house was closed and he noticed that all of his family members must had left. He resumed stroking Amy's hair until he felt Amy's body tensed not long after, informing him that she had awaken. He stopped stroking her hair and placed his hand on the side of his body.

When Amy lazily opened her eyes, Sheldon said, "Could you move a little, my hand is numb."

Her eyes suddenly widened and she moved backward quickly to disentangle their bodies. Sheldon, noticing that the bed was not that big, grabbed her in reflex to prevent her from falling out of the bed. He automatically screamed when Amy's body touched his numb hand which was now tingling.

"Ouch! Please refrain yourself from touching my right hand for a moment, it's tingling. Also, do not move too far, you might fall out of the bed," he said, carefully rubbing his right hand to get rid of the pin and needles.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just surprised," Amy said apologetically. "You should rock your head side to side. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck, loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure."

Sheldon did as she told and the tingling was gone not long after. "Wow, it works. Thank you, Amy."

"You're welcome. What time is it?" Amy looked that the sun shine peeked through the curtain of the window. She had not worn her glasses so she could not see the clock on the wall clearly.

"Nine thirty," he replied.

"What! Didn't your mother told us to get ready by 9 am?" She quickly sat up and was about to get off of the bed when she felt Sheldon pulled the hem of her nightgown. She frowned and he suddenly realized where his hand was and dropped it right away.

"It's okay, they left already," he said, trying to hide the blush. They had been sleeping on the same bed and embracing each other the whole night, yet the fact that his hand had almost touched her bare legs still made his heart fluttered.

"Without us? Are you no longer obligated to attend the wedding?"

"They left without us because you were still sleeping when they left but we still have to attend the wedding later."

"Oh, I feel bad. Sorry I overslept."

"Are you kidding? I should be thanking you for that, less time for chitchat with my family members. Now we only have to survive the wedding." Sheldon patted the bed next to him. "Come on, we still have some time before we have to get ready."

Amy laid back. They were both laying on their backs side to side and did not say anything for a minute until Sheldon's stomach growled.

"I may have talked too fast. We need to get up after all," he said.

* * *

After having oatmeal for breakfast which was prepared by Sheldon, they each took turn to use the bathroom to take showers. It did not take long for them to get ready, including Amy. Having Penny as neighbor slash sometimes roommate who usually took at least an hour to shower and another hour to choose the wardrobe, Sheldon was impressed that Amy was ready a lot quicker than he anticipated. Amy came down to the living room where Sheldon was waiting, wearing a dark brown floral dress which ended a couple of inches below her knees, covered in a purple cardigan. She forewent her tights, which Sheldon thought was a smart decision considering the wedding would be held in the afternoon. Instead of her usual orthopedic shoes, she was wearing a pair of nude colored shoes with sensible heels. He also noticed she applied a light make up and curled her hair a little. She looked different yet she still looked like Amy.

Sheldon nodded approvingly before he said, "Missy is on the way to pick us up."

"Okay," Amy replied. She took a seat next to Sheldon on the couch.

Sheldon suddenly felt very warm. Part of him blamed the heat in Texas and the suit he was wearing. However, part of him also knew that the warm feeling he felt had nothing to do with the temperature. He cleared his throat to shake the thought. "You look different," he said breaking the silence.

"A good different or a bad different?" Amy asked, tilting her head.

"A good different of course," he said quickly. "I-I think you looked really pretty," he added quietly. Sheldon did think that Amy looked really pretty. It was not that she did not look pretty before, he thought that she always looked nice with her sensible clothes and long straight shiny hair. But seeing her all dressed up was also nice.

"Oh! Thank you, Sheldon. You looked handsome yourself," she replied. There was a blush on Sheldon's face which Amy thought made him looked cuter.

They grinned shyly at each other. However, the moment did not long last and was ruined by the sound of honks of a car outside. It was Missy.

Sheldon wondered why Missy did not get off of the car and told them in person nicely that she had arrived and ready to drive them to the wedding. Instead, she honked like a barbarian.

"I guess that's our ride?" Amy said.

Sheldon sighed. He did not understand why he was suddenly mad at his twin sister for interrupting his intimate moment with Amy. "Unfortunately, yes. Are you ready, Doctor Fowler?" he asked, offering his hand to her.

"I'm always ready, Doctor Cooper," Amy replied, taking his hand.


	10. Chapter 10

I **should be posting this chapter tomorrow. However, I'm not sure I can do it since there is some family event that I have to attend this weekend. So, I thought, why not post it now.**

 **Well, here goes nothing.**

* * *

Amy Farrah Fowler used to dream about her wedding—a June wedding on a cliff overlooking the ocean sunset, with a big white dress she was going to wear, and the prince charming she was going to marry—until she stopped doing that at one point. Not because no man found her attractive enough, a few men had shown interest in her. She just did not find someone who complied with her standards. Her mother told her that she should not have too high standards so that men could approach her but Amy did not feel the need to lower her self-esteem just to have a boyfriend. She agreed to date once a year just to silence her mother even though she barely could stand the dates. She was perfectly fine being all alone, she did not need a man to feel complete.

"This whole thing is ridiculous, don't you think?" Sheldon whispered to her. They were sitting next to each other in the groom's family seating. They arrived with a few minutes to spare and immediately took the empty seats prepared for them. Meemaw greeted them with a hug as if they had not met for a long time while Mary only nodded at them.

"I don't think so. I think it's quite lovely," she whispered back. Even though Amy herself had given up on the idea of getting married, she still often found the ceremony of other people's weddings to be beautiful.

"Yes, it's lovely. But it's ridiculous to perform a wedding ceremony in a church backyard somewhere in Texas at this time. We're practically melting. Why can't they have an indoor wedding? There is literally a church not more than 30 feet from us," he complained. "An outdoor wedding? Can you believe it? When I get married, I'll do it at the Athenaeum club at Caltech. You should see the place, it's beautiful and most importantly, indoor."

"'When'?" Amy frowned. "Is this wedding giving you an idea into thinking about getting married yourself, Sheldon? Didn't you say you have no intention to be pair-bonded?" Amy asked curiously.

"N-no. I was just saying that because Albert Einstein was a member of the Athenaeum club. Now, hush, the ceremony is about to begin," Sheldon said quickly.

The whole ceremony was alright. If it was not because of the heat, Amy would have enjoyed it more. She was grateful for wearing a light cardigan and forgoing her tights.

Thankfully the reception was held in an air-conditioned tent built next to it so the guests did not have to walk far. Amy immediately drained the glass of water on their designated table. "They should have held the ceremony in this tent from the beginning," she said. She took off her cardigan and draped it on the back of her chair, leaving her with her short sleeve dress.

"I concur," Sheldon replied, following her action by taking off his own jacket. He took a moment to appreciate Amy's arms as she always covered in cardigans or lab coat all the time. Except for last night when she wore her nightgown to sleep. However, the dress she wore at the moment was pretty fitting and Sheldon could almost visualize her body. His mouth suddenly felt dry so he drank his water down in one gulp.

"Oh, there you are. Come with me." Sheldon's mother suddenly grabbed her son on the arm and dragged him away before he had a chance to say anything.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. He'll be back." Sheldon's Meemaw took the empty seat on Amy's right. "I hope you don't mind I'm taking this seat, I'm just keeping it occupied until Sheldon returns."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm sure he won't mind," Amy said. "Besides, there are still other empty chairs available." She looked around their table which was only occupied by Sheldon's Meemaw and her. It was meant for Sheldon's family but they were somewhere else.

"Missy will be back when she's done fixing her makeup and Georgie will be back when the flirting is not working," she pointed at Georgie who was standing extremely close to one of the bridesmaids. "And Mary will return Sheldon after she is finished trying to set Sheldon up with that poor girl."

It was a wrong timing to drink another glass of water as Amy almost choked on the water upon hearing Meemaw's explanation. Fortunately, she managed to not spill the water all over the table.

"I just don't understand why she still insists on doing that. I feel bad for that girl," Meemaw continued.

"Why?" Amy asked.

"Oh dear, anybody can see that my grandson is smitten with you."

"W-what?"

"He hangs on to your every word. You should see his eyes when he looks at you. Speak of the devil."

Sheldon had hurriedly walked to their table looking irritated followed by Mary. He took the other empty seat next to Amy. "I can't believe you! I brought Amy here and you promised that you will stop trying to set me up," he said to his mother.

"No. I promised not to invite Vanessa as your plus one, which I did. However, she and her mother are invited to the wedding because they are the member of this community. I have nothing to do with it," Mary said.

"Then why did you invite her to dinner tonight?" he asked angrily.

"I was being polite."

"Really? So, you have no ulterior motive?"

"No," Mary replied. She said it calmly Amy had no idea whether she was telling the truth or not.

"Fine. Then I don't feel the need to engage in any conversation with her tonight."

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, I raised you better than that. You are going to behave and treat her nicely!"

"That's unacceptable. I'm a grown man. You can't tell me what to do."

"Is that how you talk to your mother?" Mary raised her voice a little. Other people from the nearest table started looking at them.

"Sheldon," Amy said softly.

Sheldon's Vulcan hearing caught her word. He was suddenly aware that Amy was sitting next to him and deliberately grabbed her hand for comfort. Mary eyed them suspiciously.

"It's just a dinner, you're going to be alright," Amy said.

"But, Amy, I don't like it," he replied meekly.

"You don't know that yet. She could be a nice person," she said.

"You need to stop being so kind and adorable." Amy blushed a little at his compliment. Sheldon then turned to his mother. "Very well, you can invite her to dinner but I will not enjoy it."

"It's my house, Shelly. I don't need your permission," Mary simply said then left them.

"See? He listens to you," Meemaw whispered in Amy's ear.

* * *

Amy played with her food. The peach cobbler was delicious, but she was no longer hungry. They were having dinner which was prepared by Mary. Amy had offered to help a couple times but she just shooed her away. Now, she was awkwardly eating dinner with Vanessa, Sheldon, his mother, and Meemaw. Missy was staying at her own house and Georgie's flirting seemed to work as he disappeared with that bridesmaid sometime during the reception and had not yet been seen since. At first, Amy thought it was nice of Sheldon not to be rude to the guest and treat Vanessa politely, even engaging in conversation with her. That was until Sheldon only talked to her throughout the dinner and ignored other people completely, including Amy.

Amy eyed Vanessa. She was beautiful, tall, and skinny. All the things Amy thought she was not. At least she had better hair than Vanessa's short hair, which was unfortunate, she would look prettier with long hair. Vanessa and Sheldon had been talking about some comic books and science fiction, things that Amy had no interest at all—although it never stopped Sheldon to keep talking to Amy about those things. Amy usually let him since she found herself mesmerized in watching him talking enthusiastically about something he loved. It turned out Vanessa had the same interest as him in comic books and science fiction. So, instead of just a smile or a simple nod like what Amy usually gave him to respond to his talk about comic books and science fiction, Vanessa responded with the equal enthusiasm as him. Amy felt weird in her stomach.

"You're in luck because I happen to have that edition in my old room and we can check it right now," Sheldon said.

"Let's do it so that I can prove you wrong," Vanessa replied.

"Um, not going to happen," he said.

They both stood and left the dining room without saying anything to the other, they even left their half-empty plates on the table.

"That's rude, they didn't excuse themselves.," Meemaw commented.

"Oh, just let them. They are still young," Mary defended them.

"I know what you are doing and I don't approve it," Meemaw said.

"I'm not doing anything. It's good that they get along very well. Vanessa seems like a good girl and they looked suited to each other," Mary replied.

Both women seemed to forget that Amy was there until Amy accidentally knocked her glass and spilled the water on the table. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll clean it," Amy clumsily stood and used her napkin to dab the water before it ruined her dress.

"It's okay, dear. I'll clean it. Just enjoy the rest of the evening, you're our guest anyway," Mary said sweetly.

Amy thought it was the first time that Mary acted nicely to her. She wondered if it had something to do with Sheldon and Vanessa.

"I-I'm going to go get some fresh air," Amy said. She then quickly opened the back door and stepped outside.

The last thing she heard when she closed the door was Mary said "What?" to Meemaw.


	11. Chapter 11

**Who was devastated after hearing the news about this season 12 as the last season of TTBT? I was. I still am.**

 **Nevertheless, editing this chapter made me feel a little better. Hopefully, you will feel better as well after reading it.**

 **Here's hoping for the best season 12! Happy reading!**

* * *

Sheldon intentionally left some copy of his favorite comics in his old bedroom to be reread when he visited his mother and Meemaw. He had the same copies in his apartment, but he kept some in Texas so that he did not have to worry about running out of reading material. It turned out to give other merits such as to prove your counterparty wrong when debating about some topic in a particular edition like this time. He had an eidetic memory, but he had learned that people tend to not believe him if he was not able to show evidence to support his statement.

He never thought that the girl his mother introduced him to held the same interest as him in comics, science fiction, and physics. At first, he was afraid that the girl would be some religious type like his mother considering they met at church. But as it turned out, she also interested in physics. She was only a physics teacher in a high school, so she only had a master degree and did not have a doctorate, but he understood that not everyone could be like Sheldon Cooper.

They were sitting on the floor his bedroom, with comic books spread around them. It had been so long since he had a conversation about comics as stimulating as this, nowadays the guys only wanted to talk about was their women—and in Raj's case, his lack thereof.

"Well, Sheldon, it looks like you were right after all," Vanessa said after he showed the comic to her.

"I've told you. My brain would never betray me. It remembers everything."

"But, surely, not everything _everything_ , right?"

"Everything. I have an eidetic memory."

"Wow! That is amazing," Vanessa said.

"I know," he replied. Sheldon thought she looked a little flushed but he was not sure. He knew that his brain was the chick magnet. Even Amy had the same reaction when she found out about it, although he could clearly see the flush on Amy's cheeks.

"You have an eidetic memory?" Amy asked him one afternoon when they were working in her lab. Sheldon was reciting to her an interesting article he read the night before. Amy had asked him how he could remember all of it, so he told her about his eidetic memory.

"Yes," he replied coyly.

"Hoo, that is very impressive Doctor Cooper."

"Thank you." Usually, when people complimented him, he would respond with some cocky replies. However, there was something sincere in Amy's tone which made him felt truly flattered.

"How I would love to scan your brain and study how it works," she added shyly. Sheldon could clearly see the blush on Amy's face which, added with her remarks, had also made him blush in return.

"Sheldon, are you okay? You're blushing. You should have gotten used to compliments for your amazing brain by now," Vanessa interrupted his thought.

"Oh, no. I was thinking about Amy, I-I mean other things," he said. "And I'm perfectly aware of how amazing my brain is. Anyway, it's getting late. Won't your mother be looking for you?" Sheldon quickly changed the subject.

"I don't think so. She knows I'm here and she knows your mother," Vanessa replied. Sheldon thought she looked a little disappointed but again, he was not sure. Reading other people's emotions was not his strong suit. "So, this is your old bedroom?"

"Yes," he said, frowning. They had been in the room for a while, and she just commented on it now.

"Do you miss being here?"

"Not really. I don't miss my childhood times. I do miss my mother and Meemaw though, and sometimes but very rarely, my brother and sister."

"My family moved a lot when I was a kid so I never really had a home growing up, you know," Vanessa said. She then started talking about her childhood which irritated Sheldon—they were there to talk about comics, not her boring childhood. Sheldon tuned her out. He recalled Amy's story about her childhood; she told him her mother put her in the closet every time she thought Amy had done something terrible. However, Amy never let it get under her skin and always managed to sneak a book or two, so she could spend the time-out to read. That was why she was so smart. Now, _that_ was interesting, he thought. Sheldon scolded himself. His brain could not stop thinking about Amy, and it made him wondered her whereabouts. He eyed the room, and his gaze fell on the cardigan Amy used earlier. He suddenly felt the urge to see her.

"Excuse me a moment," Sheldon stood.

"Where are you going?"

Sheldon already left the room without even answering.

* * *

Amy sat on the step of the back porch. She needed to sort out the feelings she did not understand. She should be happy that Sheldon found someone who shared the same interest in comics and science fiction shows, but she could not stop the unsettling feeling in her stomach when she saw his excitement when he talked with Vanessa. She did not like it. She was the one who told him to open his mind, but now she just wanted to judo-chopped that woman and tell her that Sheldon was not for her. The thought surprised her, and she realized she was crying.

Amy was starting to accept that she was feeling something stronger than just a friendship with Sheldon and the probability that she was jealous when she heard someone opened the door behind her. She quickly wiped her tears and looked up to see Sheldon stood next to her. He sat down on the step next to her. He watched her intensely, so Amy quickly averted her gaze. If Sheldon caught her teary eyes, he did not say anything.

"Why are you here?" he asked her.

"I just needed some fresh air," Amy replied, hoping Sheldon would not notice her hoarse voice. "Why are you here? I thought you were having fun talking with Vanessa." Amy scolded herself after saying that, now she sounded jealous and she did not want him to think less of her.

"I did, but if I want to talk about comics or Star Trek, I could do it with the guys back home. Besides, she found atomic spectroscopy boring," Sheldon only replied. "And I kind of missed you," he added sheepishly.

Sheldon reached her hand and intertwined it in his, rubbing her knuckles. Amy put her head on his shoulder and inhaled his body talc. She felt he pressed his head on hers. They both were silent and enjoying the moment.

"Are you sad?" Sheldon asked after a while.

"Not anymore."

* * *

Mary was cheerfully knitting in the living room by herself. Her mother had retired to her room after she told Mary to fix what she had done. Mary only scoffed at her—there was nothing she needed to fix. Sheldon and Vanessa got along very well. Frankly, she was in doubt at first, but she was glad that she got a positive reaction from Sheldon that evening.

"Mrs. Cooper?"

She was surprised when she looked up to see Vanessa stood with her coat draped on her arm.

"I'm going home now. Thank you for the lovely dinner," she said politely.

"Are you leaving now? I thought you were still talking with Sheldon upstairs.," Mary said.

"We were, but then he left. I think I bore him."

Despite her chuckle, she looked a little sad and Mary felt sorry for her. "I'm sorry, Vanessa. I will talk to him."

"Oh, please don't. Look, Mrs. Cooper, I know you and my mother have some arrangement for us, but I only came here because she asked me to. And while Sheldon is very interesting and brilliant, I can see that he already has someone else on his mind. Maybe you should see it, too. Good night and thank you again for dinner."

With that, Vanessa left.

Mary needed a moment for her words to sink in. She silently put her knitting tools on the coffee table and walked to the kitchen—she could use a cup of tea. Mary was pouring the water onto the kettle when from the kitchen's window, she saw Sheldon and Amy in the back porch. They were sitting on the step and leaning against each other. There was no one else around them, so they did not need to prove a point to anyone, yet they still showed affection towards each other.

Suddenly, Mary's eyes were open. She had been so obsessed with finding the perfect match for Sheldon she did not see that he actually had found it. She realized that her mother was right all this time. Sheldon was a grown man and she should had trusted him. She was embarrassed for being so proud and thinking that she knew what was best for him without even considering his opinion and decision. Mary could see that Sheldon and Amy were compatible with each other. Truth to be told, seeing Amy was like seeing Sheldon and it scared her at first. Mary thought Amy was weird, but Sheldon was a unique specimen himself, any normal person would not attract him. Mary could see a significant change in Sheldon with Amy beside him. A good change.

Mary smiled. She decided to forget her tea and give them some privacy. Still, she took a mental note to have Amy and Sheldon sleep in separate bedrooms later.

* * *

It was getting dark, but none of them seemed to care. They were still sitting on the step of the back porch, holding hands and leaning against each other. They were too busy with each thought; tomorrow they would fly back home. Would everything go back to normal? They did not even know what was normal, to them, what they had at the moment felt natural.

"We should start packing now. We have an early flight tomorrow," Amy broke the silence.

Sheldon only mumbled his approval, but neither of them moved.

"Sheldon?"

"Yes?"

"What happens when we go back?"

"I guess everything returns to normal."

"But I like it here."

"In Texas?"

"Not precisely. I like what we have and what we are doing here."

"Oh," Sheldon replied weakly. "I like it, too."

"Technically, we did not set the parameter on how long we are going to continue pretending to be each other's girlfriend-boyfriend. We still can do this once we are back in California," Amy proposed.

"I know. But I don't want to pretend."

"Oh," Amy replied. She felt the air was sucked out of her lungs. She sat straight, moving away from his body and instantly missing the warm. Although, Sheldon did not let go of her hand and Amy was sure her heart would shatter if he did.

"Amy, when I found out that my mother was trying to set me up, I was angry because I thought she understood me. The need to find another human being to share one's life with has always puzzled me. I was perfectly fine on my own, but then I met you and I knew what it is like to have you around. And I like it so much I can't even imagine my life without you now."

Amy gulped, feeling the air suddenly filled her lungs. "I feel the same way," she finally managed to say.

"Good. Because I want it to be real," Sheldon said, squeezing her hand.

"I really want that, too."

Sheldon nodded and adjusted his position to face her him. "With that being said, Amy, will you be my real girlfriend?"

Amy mimicked his position and grinned widely, "Yes."

He grinned back at her.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze flew. Amy involuntarily let go of their joined hands to rub her arms and warm herself. Sheldon quickly enveloped his arms around her and rubbed her arms, trying to give her some heat. "You really do get cold easily," he said, although he did not seem to mind at all.

"I know, that's why I'm always wearing so many layers. Too bad, I already took off my cardigan," she said. However, none of them considered getting inside.

"I agree. You should always wear your cardigan. In fact, I think maybe you need to wear more."

In the not so distant future, Sheldon Cooper would complain that Amy Farrah Fowler was wearing too many layers when they were about to make love for the first time. But it was a story for another time.

\- the end -

* * *

 **A/N: Didn't I tell you that this is the last chapter? Well, it is. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Thank you very much for reading and leaving reviews on this story.**


	12. Bonus

**A/N: I know I have posted the last chapter of this story and that was the vision I have for the ending since the first time I got the idea. However, this thought kept bugging my mind and would not leave me alone, so I decided to write it anyway. Consider this a bonus chapter.**

* * *

"Good morning, Mother."

Mary was in the kitchen when Sheldon greeted. She was preparing breakfast for Sheldon and Amy since they had an early flight. "Morning, Shelly. Where is Amy?"

"She will be down here shortly," he replied sternly.

"Okay. Look, there is something I want to talk to you before you leave, just the two of us," Mary started.

"Before you say anything, I need to tell you something first," Sheldon cut her.

Mary only nodded letting him to continue.

"I have to confess something. Amy is a neurobiologist I'm currently working with. We are collaborating on a project which was actually her idea and it was brilliant—although she said we should call it _our_ idea because she is smart and kind like that. When I found out you were trying to set me up, I got panicked. She advised me to tell you that I already have a girlfriend which I did but then you insisted to bring her so I convinced Amy to pretend to be my girlfriend. But then, I realized that I enjoy her company so much that I decided to ask her to be my girlfriend for real. Just last night. And she agreed. So, yeah, now I do really have a girlfriend. Please, stop trying to set me up with Vanessa or any other women because I really _really_ like Amy and I don't want you to scare her off," Sheldon said without stopping.

Mary needed a moment to register his long explanation. "Never in a million years would I guess that you guys were official just last night. I mean, you guys looked pretty convincing since the day you arrived," she finally said.

"We are both top of our fields, acting is a piece of cake for us."

"I don't think you guys were acting and I think you know it too."

Sheldon opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again.

"Shelly, I want to thank you for your honesty, it means a lot to me. However, I feel like I owe you an apology. And to Amy, too. I tried to set you up because I was afraid you'll end up alone and lonely when I'm gone. I didn't trust you enough and I even treated Amy badly. For that, I am sorry. From now on, I will not intervene with your life. Just know that I would be here if you need anything. Okay?" Mary said, rubbing her hand on his cheek. It saddened her a little that her baby boy had grown up and needed her less and less every day. But she also felt proud of him.

"Apology accepted."

"Thank you. Now, take your seat and have some breakfast," Mary said as she handed him a plate.

"Good morning," Amy greeted as she arrived at the dining room and took a seat next to Sheldon.

"Good morning, dear. How was your sleep? I hope Missy's room was convenient for you," Mary said to her. She had asked Amy to sleep in Missy's old bedroom, stating that Missy would not be using it and Amy would sleep more comfortably there than on Sheldon's not so big bed. Sheldon and Amy looked a little hesitant at first, but Amy finally agreed without arguing.

"I slept fine. Thank you, Mrs. Cooper." Amy was a little surprised at Mary's hospitality.

"Please stop with the formality and call me Mary from now on. Okay?" Mary told her.

Amy looked at Sheldon curiously. Sheldon only grabbed her hand on the table and smiled at her reassuringly. "Very well," she replied.

"I understand that my behavior to you was unacceptable all this time and I am truly sorry, Amy. I hope this incident will not discourage you from visiting again next time. Please know that you are always welcome here."

"That's okay, Mrs. Coop—I mean Mary."

"Oh, and congratulation on your new relationship. Sheldon just told me about it," Mary said, smiling. "Just let me know if he does something stupid, I will knock some senses into him."

"Mom!" Sheldon protested.

"What?" she said innocently. Sheldon only shook his head.

"So, how many pancakes you guys want?"

* * *

"Thank you for picking us up, Leonard."

Leonard looked back at his friend to make sure that it was indeed Sheldon Cooper who just said those words. Amy also muttered her thank you to him.

"No problem," he finally replied.

He was driving Sheldon and Amy back to Los Robles with Sheldon riding shotgun. Although, Leonard noticed that Sheldon kept stealing glances at Amy in the backseat. Amy had parked her car in their apartment to make it easier for Penny to drive them to the airport when they left for Texas. So, he expected Amy to immediately go to her car and drove home when they arrived. He was surprised that after Sheldon took out Amy's luggage from the trunk and handed it to her, they walked hand in hand upstairs. It was pretty hard for them since they did that while holding each other's hands the entire time.

"Why didn't you put the luggage in your car first, Amy? That way, you won't have to carry it all the way down the stairs when you go home later," Leonard asked Amy when they finally reached in the fourth floor. It was still noon but he assumed they would be tired, especially since Amy still had to drive back to her apartment in Glendale.

"Don't be silly, Leonard. Amy will stay the night here," Sheldon replied for her calmly as he opened the door of 4A. Amy quickly rushed inside, mumbling that she needed to use the bathroom.

"What?" Leonard was shocked. Sheldon had said so many weird things today.

"Why are you so surprised? You stay at Penny's place many times. She stayed the night here a lot as well, although her name is not on the lease in this apartment," Sheldon said.

"Y-yes, but…" Leonard wanted to scream that _he_ was Sheldon. Girls were not allowed in his room and he definitely did not bring a girl to sleep with him. Although Leonard still asked to make sure. "Is she going to sleep in your bedroom with you? Like, on the same bed?"

"Leonard! That is an inappropriate thing to ask about a lady like Amy," Sheldon scolded him. However, he peeked inside the apartment before added in a whisper, "But, if you must know, yes, she will sleep in my bedroom with me on the same bed. We slept together one time in Texas and it was very enjoyable for both of us. We want to do it again here to see if it was only a fluke or not."

Sheldon said that calmly Leonard wondered if he was aware of the things he had said. He gave a moment for Sheldon to say 'Bazinga!' like he always did when he was fooling, or he thought he was fooling other people. However, Sheldon only stared at him. Leonard even thought that Sheldon looked excited about it.

"Oookay. I'm going to see Penny and I will stay at her place tonight so you can have the place to yourself. Um, bye," Leonard said, quickly leaving Sheldon and entering the 4B without giving him a chance to reply. Penny and the gang would not believe what he just heard. He would have so many things to be talked with them later.

Sheldon only shook his head as he entered the apartment and closed the door.

"Where is Leonard?" Amy asked when she returned to the living room to find Sheldon by himself.

"He's staying at Penny's. Thank goodness for that, we could use some alone time," he replied. Amy's blush was visible he realized what he had implied. He cleared his throat. "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?" he quickly asked.

"No. I'm still full from the sandwich your mother made us."

"How about a cup of tea?" Sheldon asked. He wanted her to feel comfortable.

"That sounds lovely," Amy replied. She could use a cup of tea.

Sheldon grinned and started to prepare the tea for both of them. Amy took a seat on the kitchen table, watching him. Sheldon handed her a mug and took the seat in front of her. They then both enjoyed their tea in comfortable silence.

"What do you want to do now?" Sheldon asked, as he took her empty mug and put it on the sink along with his.

"Although I had slept almost throughout the flight, I'm still pretty tired. I hope it's alright with you if I take a nap for a while before dinner," Amy said.

"Very well. I'm actually pretty tired myself. Do you want to use the bathroom first while I cleaned a little?" he asked.

"Sure. Um, can I use the shower?"

"Of course. There is a clean towel you can use under the sink."

"Thank you," Amy replied, then excused herself.

Sheldon quickly washed the mugs and cleaned a little before going to his room. Amy was still in the bathroom so he unpacked his suitcase while waiting for her. He was just finished when Amy entered the bedroom, wearing her nightgown.

"The bathroom is yours," she said.

He nodded and immediately left to the bathroom. He quickly took a shower and changed into his pajamas. He knew it would mess up his pajamas rotation, heck, it would even disrupt his bedtime, but he thought he would figure it out later. He found Amy stood awkwardly in the middle of his bedroom when he returned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just not sure which side of the bed I should sleep on," Amy replied sheepishly. "I know I slept on the right side that time but it was spontaneous and I don't know your preference."

Sheldon secretly let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that Amy suddenly changed her mind. He would respect her decision if she did but he would also feel disappointed. "Well, I always sleep in the middle of the bed so any side wouldn't matter to me."

"I tend to sleep on the right side on most nights."

"Then, please, make yourself comfortable."

Amy carefully took the right side of the bed. Sheldon waited until she was comfortable before turning off the light and joined her on the bed.

"Are you warm enough?" Sheldon asked.

"I am, thank you," she replied.

"Oh, okay." Sheldon's heart fell. If Amy was already feeling warm, he did not have an excuse to offer to cuddle with her.

They laid on their backs not saying anything until Amy broke the silence. "Should we hold each other like the last time? If we want to conduct the experiment, don't we have to use the same condition?" she said shifting to lay on her side to face him.

"You're right," he said, mimicking her position. "Shall we?"

Amy just stayed still so Sheldon took the initiative. He enfolded her in his embrace slowly, looking at her face to see her reaction. Finally, Amy moved closer and joined him. She pressed her face to his chest and inhaled deeply. "Like this?" she asked.

Sheldon sighed contently. "Like this."

As his eyes grew heavy, Sheldon knew that it was not a fluke and he would enjoy this as much as he did the first time. And from Amy's tight hug on him, he knew she loved it too. They already reached their conclusion even before the experiment was over. The last thing he remembered before sleeping was a note to himself to thank his mother—for if it was not because of her and the push she did, he would not be sleeping in the embrace of Amy Farrah Fowler right now.

* * *

 **So, yeah. It is really over for now.**

 **Thank you for constantly reading and leaving kind words on my story. Please don't stop doing that :)**


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